Many post-80s boys still remember the classic fighting game "King of Fighters" in 97, but few people know that the Chinese factor in this game, Zhen Yuanzhai, actually has a prototype, he is the first martial arts instructor in the history of Chinese cinema - Yuan Xiaotian.
In Jackie Chan's classic movies "Drunken Fist" and "Snake-shaped Executioner", the wine immortal master who taught Jackie Chan martial arts is Yuan Xiaotian, who has a good wine, funny, and red nose, and is indeed the same as Zhen Yuanzhai in the King of Boxing!
Don't look at the film Yuan Xiaotian is not proud, the famous Hong Kong kung fu film team Yuan Jiaban, he founded, Zhen Zidan, Zhang Jin and other famous martial stars, are popular from here.
As a martial arts instructor and "play ticket" actor, he can make his son Yuan Heping call "God", Zhang Guorong changed his name because of his words, and the Su Qi'er who starred in him impressed Zhou Xingchi.
What is the charm of Yuan Xiaotian?
Only by knowing Yuan Xiaotian can you know that his life is a legend!
01
In 1912, Yuan Xiaotian was born in Peiping to an ordinary family.
In that turbulent and turbulent era, if you want to protect yourself and your family, learning martial arts is the best way.
Yuan Xiaotian has been practicing Northern Sect martial arts since he was a child, and what we can see on TV about the Twelve-Way Tan Leg, Mandarin Duck Leg, Eight-Step Fist, etc., he has studied it, and is a martial artist with real skills.
At that time, there was no such thing as "martial arts instruction". Since many theatrical performances inevitably encounter fight scenes, in order to make the fight scenes more exciting, some celebrities will invite people who have learned martial arts to guide them.
In 1937, Yuan Xiaotian was invited by the Cantonese opera master Xue Juexian to go to Hong Kong to guide the northern martial arts scenes in cantonese opera.
Transforming Ling Li's solid martial arts into dashing and heroic movements in Cantonese opera gave Yuan Xiaotian a great challenge, but this experience also made Yuan Xiaotian like the feeling of "performance" and paved the way for his subsequent development.
As the influence of Western films in China gradually deepened, Yuan Xiaotian was also introduced into the film world.
However, Yuan Xiaotian's body appearance is too ordinary, and he does not have the appearance of a movie star at all. But his solid martial arts skills were deeply loved by the crew, so Yuan Xiaotian became a martial arts stuntman.
In the popular movie "The Great Hero of Kanto", Yuan Xiaotian served as the martial substitute of the heroine Wu Lizhu, presenting many difficult and wonderful martial arts actions for the audience.
In the 1960s, with the rapid development of Hong Kong films, Yuan Xiaotian gained a broad space for development. With professional and solid martial arts skills, Yuan Xiaotian has gained a firm foothold in the Hong Kong film industry. Especially in the martial arts scene, Yuan Xiaotian has been able to provide constructive guidance for the crew and form an excellent visual effect.
In 1960, Yuan Xiaotian served as a martial arts instructor for the film Iron Arm King Kong. But this time he is no longer an obscure behind-the-scenes staff, and the words "martial arts instructor Yuan Xiaotian" are officially typed on the list of movies.
In this way, Yuan Xiaotian became the "founding father" of the Chinese martial arts coaching industry.
In addition, he became the first film actor to participate in foreign film shooting, playing a role in the British film "Fifty-Five Days in Beijing".
"Sword Shadow Enmity", "Yitian Slaughter dragon record", "Snowflake Excalibur", "Huang Feihong"... During this period, Yuan Xiaotian participated in the filming of a large number of film and television works, and when Hong Jinbao, Yuan Biao, Jackie Chan and others were still small supporting roles, Yuan Xiaotian had become a very important big person in the crew.
As Yuan Xiaotian grew older, he also intended to retreat behind the scenes, and under his cultivation, several of his sons were able to stand alone, especially the second son, Yuan Heping, who inherited his mantle and became a martial arts instructor and continued to contribute to Hong Kong films.
02
In 1973, martial arts superstar Bruce Lee died unexpectedly, resulting in a break in the kung fu film market. Many martial artists feel that their opportunity has come, and they are eager to try it, hoping to become a hit.
Hong Kong director Wang Jing sarcastically said:
"For a while, the martial arts master thought he had become the protagonist, but each failed."
In fact, the reason why no one stands out is mainly that Bruce Lee is in front, and the blind imitation of others will only make the audience feel greasy and not addictive.
At that time, under the intentional cultivation of Yuan Xiaotian, his son Yuan Heping had become a master, and under the influence of his father, he also engaged in martial arts guidance.
Yuan Heping saw that in order to break through the current dilemma of kung fu films, it must be distinguished from Bruce Lee's classic style, and perhaps humorous action films that others rarely try will be popular in the market.
So Yuan Heping, with the help of his father, directed his debut film "Snake-like Executioner".
Jackie Chan, known as the "poison of the box office", was invited to be the male protagonist, and his father Yuan Xiaotian became the hermit master Bai Changtian in the play.
Unlike bruce Lee's righteous characters in the past, Jackie Chan in "Snake-like Executioner" is a city-well miscellaneous guy, and his martial arts moves are very novel, and moves such as "snake stealing eggs" can also be used.
After the release of the movie, the style of ghost horse spirits and witty humor was so popular that "Snake-like Executioner" set off a frenzy of Hong Kong comedy movies.
Yuan Heping took advantage of the victory to pursue, and then launched the movie "Drunken Fist" with his father Yuan Xiaotian.
This time, Jackie Chan became Huang Feihong, and Yuan Xiaotian became Huang Feihong's wine immortal master Su Qi'er.
In order to hone Huang Feihong, who is angry, Su Qi'er, who does not play cards according to the routine, makes Huang Feihong suffer greatly, one will let him stand in the cylinder, and the other will let him carry water.
Later, Su Qi'er taught him the Drunken Eight Immortals Fist, and after getting drunk, Huang Feihong's expression was exaggerated and his movements were dexterous, which made the audience laugh when they watched.
And Su Huazi, who does not leave her hands and has a red nose, has also become a classic role on the screen. Yuan Xiaotian, the little old man who "played tickets", became popular all over the country overnight.
Because the image is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the island fighting game "King of Fighters" also takes the image of Yuan Xiaotian as the prototype and incarnates as "Zhen Yuanzhai".
Even Zhou Xingchi's "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er" has a great sense of tribute to it.
After "Drunken Fist", Yuan Xiaotian starred in works such as "Old Man Fist Big Steamed Bun", "Drunken Man Su Qi'er", "North and South Drunken Fist", and mostly appeared in the image of a funny strange old man, of which "North and South Drunken Fist" was broadcast on CCTV, which is the childhood memory of many people.
03
It is undeniable that the success of the two films "Snake-shaped Executioner" and "Drunken Fist" has a lot to do with Yuan Heping's innovation and Jackie Chan's expressiveness, but Yuan Xiaotian's solid martial arts skills and excellent portrayal of the role are also the boosters of the success of the film.
And Yuan Xiaotian's insights on the visual effects of the film and his achievements in martial arts instruction have greatly influenced Yuan Heping's view of the film, and it is no wonder that his son Yuan Heping will directly pay tribute to his father in the interview:
"I think my father is God."
In fact, in addition to Yuan Heping, Yuan Xiaotian's other sons have also made great achievements in the field of film.
His son Yuan Xiangren mixed martial arts in his early years, gradually becoming a martial arts instructor from a stuntman. And his screen image is more classic, as long as it appears, it will become the finishing touch.
For example, the old beggar in "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er".
The tramp in Kung Fu.
Among these unkempt but rather mysterious characters, there is the shadow of his father Yuan Xiaotian.
Son Yuan Xinyi is a famous villain actor in Hong Kong, who has starred in "Yangtze River No. 7", "Great Inner Secret Agent Zero Zero Hair", "Young Wong Fei Hung" series, "Qimen Dunjia" and other works.
His son Yuan Richu was praised by Yuan Heping and starred in works such as "Ghost Horse Heavenly Master", "Huo Yuanjia", "Qimen Dunjia" and so on.
His son Yuan Longju is also a martial arts instructor and film actor, and has starred in the movies "Drunken Man Su Qi'er" and "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er".
Several sons have achievements in film, under the creation of Yuan Xiaotian, the famous kung fu film team "Yuan Jiaban" took shape and grew, followed by a series of popular good movies such as "Huang Feihong" and "Laughing Taiji".
To this day, Yuan Jiaban still stands in the Hong Kong film circle, and yuan jiaban can be seen in many famous and well-known movies.
And Yuan Xiaotian not only spent his mind on several sons, but also took good care of other descendants.
After Zhang Guorong returned from Britain that year, he sought development in the entertainment industry under the name of Zhang Fazong. Later, he met his nobleman Yuan Xiaotian, who read his name:
"Hair, swelling... The name is not good, it is difficult to red! ”
So Zhang Guorong changed his name to "proud of the country" - Zhang Guorong.
Later, my brother became a big hit and became a classic in the hearts of countless people.
04
Unfortunately, due to a long and arduous crew work, Yuan Xiaotian unfortunately suffered from lung cancer in his later years.
In 1980, Yuan Xiaotian died of illness in Hong Kong due to ineffective treatment.
Yuan Xiaotian, the first generation of Martial Arts Instructors in China, said goodbye to the movie and said goodbye to the audience forever.
Elder Yuan's life is like a legend, born in a turbulent era, so he took a martial body and settled down.
With the rise of film in China, he also joined the film circle, with a solid martial arts foundation to guide the film, and pioneered the martial arts guidance industry, becoming the pioneer of Yuan Jiaban.
Each action movie is integrated with Yuan Xiaotian's painstaking efforts, and he uses amazing martial arts and superb acting skills to dedicate a scene of classics to the audience.
That amiable, drinking, red-nosed little old man carries the youth and dreams of countless people, and even if it is gone now, it has left us with many happy memories.
Although Elder Yuan is not there, we can relive the works he left behind and feel the style and charm of a generation of legendary martial arts instructors!